Rejoice in the Lord

¹Therefore, my brothers, whom I love and long for, my joy and crown, that is how you must stand firm in the Lord, my beloved.

²I urge Euodia and Syntyche to agree with each other in the Lord.

³Yes, and I ask you, my true yokefellow,to help these women who have contended at my side for the gospel, along with Clement and the rest of my fellow workers, whose names are in the Book of Life.

⁴Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!

⁵Let your gentleness be apparent to all. The Lord is near.

⁶Be anxious for nothing, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.

⁷And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

⁸Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think on these things.

⁹Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me, put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.

The Generosity of the Philippians

¹⁰Now I rejoice greatly in the Lord that at last you have revived your concern for me. You were indeed concerned, but you had no opportunity to show it.

¹¹I am not saying this out of need, for I have learned to be content regardless of my circumstances.

¹²I know how to live humbly, and I know how to abound. In any and every situation I have learned the secret of being filled and being hungry, of having plenty and having need.

¹³I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength.

¹⁴Nevertheless, you have done well to share in my affliction.

¹⁵And as you Philippians know, in the early days of the gospel, when I left Macedonia, no church but you partnered with me in the matter of giving and receiving.

¹⁶For even while I was in Thessalonica, you provided for my needs again and again.

¹⁷Not that I am seeking a gift, but I am looking for the fruit that may be credited to your account.

¹⁸I have all I need and more, now that I have received your gifts from Epaphroditus. They are a fragrant offering, an acceptable sacrifice, well-pleasing to God.

¹⁹And my God will supply all your needs according to His glorious riches in Christ Jesus.

²⁰To our God and Father be glory forever and ever. Amen.

Final Greetings

²¹Greet all the saints in Christ Jesus.The brothers who are with me send you greetings.

²²All the saints send you greetings, especially those from the household of Caesar.

²³The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit.

Request for Prayer

¹Finally, brothers, pray for us, that the word of the Lord may spread quickly and be held in honor, just as it was with you.

²And pray that we may be delivered from wicked and evil men; for not everyone holds to the faith.

³But the Lord is faithful, and He will strengthen you and guard you from the evil one.

⁴And we have confidence in the Lord that you are doing and will continue to do what we command.

⁵May the Lord direct your hearts into God’s love and Christ’s perseverance.

A Warning against Idleness

⁶Now we command you, brothers, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, to keep away from any brother who leads an undisciplined life that is not in keeping with the tradition you receivedfrom us.

⁷For you yourselves know how you ought to imitate us, because we were not undisciplined among you,

⁸nor did we eat anyone’s food without paying for it. Instead, in labor and toil, we worked night and day so that we would not be a burden to any of you.

⁹Not that we lack this right, but we wanted to offer ourselves as an example for you to imitate.

¹⁰For even while we were with you, we gave you this command: “If anyone is unwilling to work, he shall not eat.”

¹¹For we hear that some of you are leading undisciplined lives, accomplishing nothing, but being busybodies.

¹²We command and urge such people by our Lord Jesus Christ to begin working quietly to earn their own living.

¹³But as for you, brothers, do not grow weary in well-doing.

¹⁴Take note of anyone who does not obey the instructions we have given in this letter. Do not associate with him, so that he may be ashamed.

¹⁵Yet do not regard him as an enemy, but admonish him as a brother.

Signature and Final Greetings

¹⁶Now may the Lord of peace Himself give you peace at all times and in every way. The Lord be with all of you.

¹⁷This greeting is in my own hand—Paul. This is my mark in every letter; it is the way I write.

¹⁸The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with all of you.

The Mystery of the Gospel

¹For this reason I, Paul, the prisoner of Christ Jesus for the sake of you Gentiles...

²Surely you have heard about the stewardship of God’s grace that was given to me for you,

³that is, the mystery made known to me by revelation, as I have already written briefly.

⁴In reading this, then, you will be able to understand my insight into the mystery of Christ,

⁵which was not made known to men in other generations as it has now been revealed by the Spirit to God’s holy apostles and prophets.

⁶This mystery is that through the gospel the Gentiles are fellow heirs, fellow members of the body, and fellow partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus.

⁷I became a servant of this gospel by the gift of God’s grace, given me through the working of His power.

⁸Though I am less than the least of all the saints, this grace was given me: to preach to the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ,

⁹and to illuminate for everyone the stewardshipof this mystery, which for ages past was kept hidden in God, who created all things.

¹⁰His purpose was that now, through the church, the manifold wisdom of God should be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly realms,

¹¹according to the eternal purpose that He accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord.

¹²In Him and through faith in Himwe may enter God’s presence with boldness and confidence.

¹³So I ask you not to be discouraged because of my sufferings for you, which are your glory.

Paul’s Prayer for the Ephesians

¹⁴... for this reason I bow my knees before the Father,

¹⁵from whom every family in heaven and on earth derives its name.

¹⁶I ask that out of the riches of His glory He may strengthen you with power through His Spirit in your inner being,

¹⁷so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. Then you, being rooted and grounded in love,

¹⁸will have power, together with all the saints, to comprehend the length and width and height and depth

¹⁹of the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.

²⁰Now to Him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to His power that is at work within us,

²¹to Him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen.

The Joy of Forgiveness

¹Blessed is he whose transgressions are forgiven,whose sins are covered.

²Blessed is the manwhose iniquity the LORD does not count against him,in whose spirit there is no deceit.

³When I kept silent, my bones became brittlefrom my groaning all day long.

⁴For day and nightYour hand was heavy upon me;my strength was drainedas in the summer heat.Selah

⁵Then I acknowledged my sin to Youand did not hide my iniquity.I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the LORD,”and You forgave the guilt of my sin.Selah

⁶Therefore let all the godly pray to Youwhile You may be found.Surely when great waters rise,they will not come near.

⁷You are my hiding place.You protect me from trouble;You surround me with songs of deliverance.Selah

⁸I will instruct you and teach you the way you should go;I will give you counsel and watch over you.

⁹Do not be like the horse or mule,which have no understanding;they must be controlled with bit and bridleto make them come to you.

¹⁰Many are the sorrows of the wicked,but loving devotion surrounds him who trusts in the LORD.

¹¹Be glad in the LORD and rejoice, O righteous ones;shout for joy, all you upright in heart.